|
October has been a busy (and awesome) month for us here at Leap of Joy, between settling into our school programs, our various fundraisers, and our two whirlwind weekends at ACL. And we're not done yet--there's more to come!
Welcome to New Friends!
Firstly, we'd like to say hello all of our new subscribers we met while at ACL! Welcome to the Leap of Joy community, and thank you for your time! We hope this is the beginning of a long relationship.
|
|
Great, but what is Leap of Joy?
|
|
|
|
We are a local 501(c)3 nonprofit that has existed since 2010. We bring after school dance and theatre arts programs to at-risk children right here in Austin. Our goal is to promote empowerment and self-acceptance through artistic expression and movement.
What We Actually Do
Our teachers bring our programs directly to AISD schools; we go in and teach various forms of dance and theatre to the kids for the length of a semester, exposing them to creative outlets that they might not otherwise have a chance to discover.
This fall, we're working with 15 different schools, for a total of 29 classes. It all leads up to our recital in May, Care to Dance, where all of our classes come together to showcase their talent! It's a big event for the kids and we offer it completely free of charge to all AISD students!
We partner with the Andy Roddick Foundation, ACE 21st Century, and Prime Time Out-of-School Enrichment to develop classes for all ages, which meet Texas standards of education. Leap of Joy is funded in part by grants from Texas Commision on the Arts, The City of Austin Cultural Arts Division and The National Endowment for the Arts.
|
|
Ways to Give Back to Your Community
|
|
|
Like what you hear? We are a nonprofit and rely entirely on donations and grants to keep our program alive. If you're looking to give back to the community in a way that will directly enhance children's lives, please consider contributing to our cause; every dollar helps! There are many ways to contribute:
4. Do you shop on Amazon? Consider marking us as your charity on Amazon Smile.
Amazon Smile is a great way to contribute without any extra effort on your part, since all the products available on Amazon are available for the same price on Amazon Smile--only Amazon donates part of the proceeds!
If you do shop on Amazon but don't yet use Amazon Smile, you can sign up for free at http://smile.amazon.com.
|
|
|
|
ACL, Thanks for Everything!
|
|
|
Wow, what a blast we had at ACL this October! It was an incredible ride, filled with jingle shakers, awesome kids, and some really sweet tunes. Check out the full recap on our blog!
|
|
|
We are about to embark on our annual Caps & Mittens campaign. In the last five years, we gave each of our Leap of Joy students bags that include a cap, mittens, socks, a handmade toy, some small miscellaneous tokens and a treat. But I have my serious doubts that with the way things are going mittens, especially, might not be needed. Maybe we can give each of our kids a warm scarf, some leggings or socks, and caps because they are cool and it’s good to keep your head warm; but who knows if we’ll even see winter. Last year I don’t think I got a sweater out more than a couple of times. Anyway, most of these kids have very little and they appreciate what you do give them. They get excited over socks. So stay tuned because the campaign is on the horizon.
|
|
|
Our Next Fundraiser is Coming Up!
|
|
Join us at Modern Market next Wednesday, October 30th, at Modern Market Eatery on Congress! The event is happening from 5-8 pm; Modern Market is donating 50% of all purchases to our cause! You can RSVP here.
The Details:
Modern Market Eatery
Wednesday, October 30th, 2019
401 Congress Ave, Ste 100A
From 5-8 pm
We hope to see you there!
|
|
|
Time to mark it on your calendar: from Jan 1 to March 31, 2020, we'll be holding an awesome fundraiser at Home Slice Pizza! They'll be donating a percentage of the sales of their excellent pies to our cause.
More details coming soon!
|
|
|
Follow us on social media!
|
|
|
Leap of Joy is funded in part with support from these sponsors:
|
|
|
|
|
